Storage unit



M. ROSTAU STORAGE UNIT oct. 6, 1959` 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 00T'. 17,1956 M. ROSTAU STORAGE UNIT Oct. 6, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed oct. 17,1956 United States Patent O This invention relates to storage units forboth commercial and home use, and more particularly comprises `a new andimproved means for constructing such units.

The construction of wall storage units found in both thehome and incommercial establishments such as'retail stores requires the talents ofa skilled cabinet maker who is paid handsomely for his services. Theconsiderable labor costs obviously` adversely affect the price of theseunits. In adition, the appreciable amount of hand ,labor involvedconsumes a great deal of time and, therefore, sometimes a month or moreelapses between the placing of an order for wall storage units and theircompleted installation.

; `I n recent years, designers of these storage units have called forthe use of modern attractive plastic material inthe construction of thedrawers and covers. These drawers and drawer covers are often made ofclear polystyrene so that the contents of the drawers may be seenwithout opening them. This material has given a very pleasant and brightlook to `these units and has met with great commercial success.

In the past, these plastic drawers and covers were supported in` woodencabinets sub-divided by a number of verticalwooden partitions. Thedrawers were stacked in vertical rows between these partitions and couldbe opened individually. The Wooden partitions between each vof thevertical rows of drawers broke the continuity of the design anddetracted from the units appearance.

.The primary object of my invention is to provide a greatly simplifiedconstruction for wall storage units. Another important object of myinvention is to reduce ifnot entirely eliminate the use of cabinet workin the construction of these units. i Still another important object ofmy invention is to provide drawer supports which take the place of theusual partitions and which are substantially invisible when the unitsare assembled.

To accomplish these and other objects, my invention includes among itsmany features long and narrow vertical strips of polystyrene or othermaterial which may be secured to the cabinet frame at the top and thebot tom. These supports include as an integral part along one or bothsides a number of horizontal shoulders or flanges which are adapted toAsupport the edges of the drawer covers. A pair of these supports, oneadjacent the front edge and one adjacent the rear edge of the cabinet,replace the conventional wooden` partitions, and two such pairs of thesesupports carry a column of drawers and covers. Notches are cut into theside edges of the covers and receive raised portions or bosses formed asa part of the supports on the upper or supporting surface of theshoulders so that the drawer covers are retained in fixed position onthe shoulders. Each of the covers serves to support the drawer above itand to close the drawer disposed immediately below it. Because thesestrips are very narrow and are made preferably of the same material asthe drawers and covers, as for ex- #c 2,907,618 Ice j @stated 9st- 5'19159 2 j ample clear polystyrene,` they are substantially invisiblerwhen the entire unit is assembled. Therefore,` they do -not distinctlyseparate the various vertical columns of the drawers. Thus, the drawersand covers appear to yiloat within the cabinetframe and a very lightlooking assembly is obtained. j j j 'Ihese and other objects andfeatures of my invention will be better understood andappreciated fromthe following detailed description of one embodiment thereof, selectedfor purposes of illustration andshown inthe accompanying drawings,` inwhich: i Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation view partially in sectionof a storage unit constructed inaccordance with 'my invention,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view of a drawer cover carried bysupports in accordancewith my invention,

Figure 3 is a side elevation view,ofja support con.` structed inaccordance with my invention, VFigures 4 and 5 are cross sectional viewstaken along the corresponding section lines in Figure 3, and

Figure 6 is an exploded View of a drawer and cover constructed inaccordance with `my invention. The embodiment ofrnyA inventionillustrated in the drawings includes a cabinet 10 having upper and lowerpanels 12 and 14 and a side `panel'lti. `These panels, of

` course, can be made of any material but as illustrated are made ofwood.` A pair of center supports 18 and -20 (see Figure 2) extendbetween the upper and lower panels 12 and`14 adjacent their frontandrear edges, respectively. These supports may be made of clearpolystyrene in strip form `having sides one and one half `inches wideand one quarter inch in thickness. The ends of these strips are securedin recesses 22 formed in the lower surface of the upper panel 12 and theupper surface of the lower panel 14. Although the strips are made ofclear polystyrene, they possess enough flexibility so that they may bebowed between the upper and lower panels until their ends may slide intothe recesses and no additional means are required to hold theminposition.

The center supports `18 and 20 have formed along each side as anintegral part thereof a number of spaced apart shoulders or ilanges 24which extend outwardly in a horizontal plane. Each of the shoulders 24has a horizontal supporting surface 26 in the center of which is formeda boss or raised portion 28. The bosses 28 are` integrally formed withthe shoulders24 and the sides of the supports and lend considerablestrength to the supports. These bosses serve another very importantfunction which will be described later in connection with the drawersand their covers. Extending downwardly from the ends of the shouldersare vertical anges which are integrally formed with the sides of thesupports as well as the shoulders. These downwardly extending ilanges 30add to the rigidity of the supports and increase the total load whichmay be borne by each of the shoulders.

AIn Figures 1 and 2, I also illustrate side or end supports 32 and 34which have formed on but one side the shoulders 24 having supportingsurfaces 26, bosses 28, and vertical flanges 3 0. It will be notedparticularly in Figure 1 that the end or side supports 32 and 34 aredisposed immediately adjacentand in fact touch the vertical side panel16 of the cabinet. `It will become clear in the following paragraphsthat the side panels 16 may be eliminated if other means are used tosupport the upper horizontal panel 12 `above the lower panel 14 for theside panels do not serve any other function. This, for example, could becarried out by supporting the horizontal upper and lower panels 12 and14 from the rear by brackets or other means secured to a wall. The sidesupports 32 and 34 are aligned with the center supports 18 and 20, andthe shoulders formed on the inside of the endv supports arenaligned withthe corresponding supports which they face on the center supports. Thesets of supporting surfaces 26 formed on the shoulders 24 are co-planar.andmdeline a :support for the drawer covers Wh'i'chivillbe-describestlatr.- .v f Y From theV foregoing description, itr will beappreciated that along cabinet could be sub-divided by the use-of thecenter and *Vend` supports which have been described. At the extremes ofthe cabinet, end -supportsv32 and 34 would be used,whilehin.theintermediate portions of the cabinet, the centersupports ofthe type designated by numerals y18 and. 20 k.would be used. rI'hemanner in which the supports function can be illustrated clearly withjus-t the single section shown in Figure 1, and therefore. it isconsidered unnecessary to` showV a continuous or full row,l ofcolumnshoffunits. i

' In Figure 6, I have illustrated the drawers and covers which areVsupported between the *center and end supports. The drawer coverY 36Vismolded of clear kpolystyrene andha's a at u pper surface upon which areformed pairs of raisedtracksg38. I The side edges 40 of the drawer'coverare notched (as suggested at 42, a few inches in from the front and rearedges of the cover. A number' of covers 3.6 are shown mounted on thehorizontal supporting surfaces26uof theshoulders `24 in Figure 1; Thenotchesl'42 ycut in the side edges of the covers receive the bosses 2 8which extend upwardly from the center of the supporting surfaces.V Whenthe drawer covers are supported in this manner on the shoulders 24, theycannot be slid in a horizontal plane, for the notches bear against lthesides of the bosses and prevent the drawers from moving. Of course, thesupoprts are separated a distance just equal tothe width of the drawercoversand provide' an easy butrf'rm iit for them.

VJhen the covers 36 areassernbled between the supports themannerdescribed,ttheyrform a number of horizontal shelves in the cabinet asillustrated clearly in Figure 1. After the covers have been positionedwithin the cabinet inthis m'anner, it is only necessary to slide themolded drawers, 46 onV top of each of the covers to complete therinstallation.. The drawers 46 slide easily on the tracks 38 yformed onthe upper surface of the covers and are narrow enough so that they donot interfere with the inwardly extending-shoulders or flanges 24 on thesides of the supports. The covers are spaced just far enough apart in avertical direction to receive the drawers 46 but the fit is.intentionally rather close so that the covers serve not only `to supportthe drawer above them but close the drawer tightly below them.

It will be noted that theshoulders formed at the bottom of each of thestripsare identical to the other shoulders in the assemblyrexcept thatlthey lack the down'- wardly extending Hanges. These anges may bedispensed with because when the supports are inserted into theA slotsformed in lthe lower horizontal panel, the bottom of the shoulders areadapted to rest upon the upper surface of that panel. As a result, it isunnecessary to furnish the additional strengthwhich is so desirable inthe intermediate shoulders formed on each of the supports. It will benoted also that applicant contemplates using a cover immediately abovethe upper surface of the lower panel as isV shown in Figure l', althoughthis, of course, is unnecessary and its absence would not constitute avariation of applicants invention. It is desirable for it gives completecontiunity to the arrangement. Applicant "alsoA contemplates the use ofa cover immediately beneath the top panel 12 for that reason, althoughthe top panel 12 could conceivably serve as a cover for the top drawer.

From the foregoing description, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat an entire wall may be covered with the clear polystyrene drawersand covers with the use of the supports which I have disclosed. Afterthe entire assembly has been completed, a person looking at the wallwould probably not see the supports both at the center and at the endsof the walls, for applicant contemplates using the same material in theconstruction of the supports, drawers and covers. Although I havespecifically stated that both the supports and the drawers and coversmay be made of clear polystyrene, obviously countless other materialscould be used to yachieve the same effect. It will be appreciated thatif the supports are made of plastic, they may be molded on conventionalequipment for but a fraction of the cost of wooden partitions. l

Because numerous modifications may be made of my invention, withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof, I do not intend to limit the breadthof my invention to the specilic embodiment illustrated and described.Rather I contemplate that the scope of my invention will be determinedby the appended claims and their equivalents.

What I claim as new and desire to Patent of the United States is: i

l. Means for mounting wall storage units comprising four vertical stripsmade of clear polystyrene, one adjacent the front and rear portions ofthe vsides of a unit to be supported, shoulders integrally formed on theinner surface of each of the strips and facing the opposite strips, eachof the shoulders lying in the same horizontal plane, additionalshoulders integrally formed on each of the strips above the first-namedshoulders and lying in a second horizontal plane, horizontal drawercovers made of clear polystyrene having their side edges resting on theshoulders one in each plane, raised portions i11- tegrally formed oneach of the shoulders, notchesvformed in the side edges of the coversand receiving the raised portions to prevent horizontal movement of thecovers on the shoulders, and a drawer made of clear polystyrene andslidably supported on the lower of the covers and closed by the upper ofthe covers.

2. Means for mounting wall storage units comprising a plurality ofvertical strips made of rigid material and disposed adjacent the sidesof a unit to be supported, shoulders formed on the vertical surfaces ofeach of the strips and facing the units to be supported, each 'of theshoulders lyingv in the same horizontal plane, additional shouldersformed on the vertical surfaces of each of the strips above thefirst-named shoulders and lyingin a second horizontal plane, horizontaldrawer covers having their side edges resting on the shoulders one ineach secure by Letters plane, bosses secured to at least one of theshoulders' in each plane, notches formed in the side edges of the coversand receiving the bosses and preventing horizontal movement of thecovers, and a drawer slidably supported on the lower of the covers andclosed by the upper of the covers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESKPATENTS1,829,0(19 Madsen Oct. 27, 1931 2,359,109 Hormes Sept. 26, 19442,570,731 Susnow Oct. 9, 1951 2,625,456 Rostau Jan. 13, 1953 2,676,420Berg Apr. 27, 1954

